Glory
by Adarian Dreamer
Summary: Fifteen years have passed since the fairy tale ended. After mastering the cards, Sakura's life took a gradual slide downhill. Now, a burnt out businesswoman who has lost everything is given a chance to rediscover the important things in life. SxS


**Glory**

**Author's Note**: This is my first attempt at a more serious and darkly toned fanfic, and it came out like an angsty drama, but it will definitely lighten up in future chapters, so please check it out, as I will try to update it as frequently as possible. I am writing this like a miniseries, so I intend to make _Glory_ 26 chapters long, but I'd much rather shorten it than to stretch the plot out too thin and make it all boring. So, at any rate, I hope you enjoy my vision of Syaoran and Sakura's future lives. As for the pairings contained in future chapters of this fic other than S+S… well, I've yet to decide on them all… Any suggestions would be great.

**Disclaimer**: Cardcaptor Sakura is owned by CLAMP, who also happen to pwn pretty hard in general.

Chapter One: Names and Faces

Across a messy, cramped office, a young businessman stared at the metal clock on the wall as he fought to stay awake for the last few minutes of the day. He squinted to rest his amber eyes as he loosened the tie around his uncomfortable business suit and logged out of his computer for the final time in Hong Kong. He looked back at the clock and waited idly for it turn to the top of the new hour. After a few minutes that seemed more like hours, the clock finally struck four.

"All right, everyone, today's work is over. Have a nice weekend, and I'll see you all back here on Monday," the boss announced around the cubicle offices in the middle of the building loud enough for everyone to hear.

Syaoran packed up his briefcase and cleared out his office. The small room was still overcrowded from the boxes that were just moved into it for the next manager unlucky enough to be confined into the undersized office. Syaoran sighed as he walked out of his office and closed the door behind him. As he turned to take his name tag off the front of the door, he wondered if he had sighed out of relief of knowing that he would never have to go back to such a boring job or a sigh of reminiscent nostalgia knowing that he was leaving the office he practically lived in for three years. The thought that he would probably never receive another opportunity to work in Hong Kong again also became a cause a concern momentarily. However, he knew that anything that could revive his fading career was a necessary change in his life.

"Mr. Li." Syaoran's middle-aged boss, Genwei Chang, the middle-aged associate director of Virtuasky, a rising Hong Kong software firm, quickly approached Syaoran, not wanting to miss bidding farewell to his most reliable colleague. "Wow, I guess this is it."

Syaoran gazed lethargically in the direction of his boss before speaking in an uninterested monotone. "It seems so, Mr. Chang."

"Congratulations on the new job. Being a graduate of Tokyo University, I bet you won't have too much trouble fitting in over there," Chang said, trying to use a friendly tone to spark a little life into Syaoran on their last day together.

Syaoran smiled weakly and spoke in a slightly livelier tone. "Thanks …. I used to feel so attached to Japan. I hope it hasn't changed too much over the years."

"Well, they're always making a lot of progress over there. It's kind of hard to keep up with them sometimes, but I'm sure you'll do just fine as a research department director." Chang smiled and bowed informally at Syaoran.

"Thanks," Syaoran said before returning the small bow to Chang and turning to leave.

"Keep in touch, all right?" Chang called out just before Syaoran reached the building's exit.

"Of course," Syaoran said dully as he briefly turned around to glance at Chang one last time, "I'll send you an email sometime about business in Japan." With that, Syaoran turned back to door and opened it with his right hand while his left hand waved back at Chang.

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Syaoran arrived at his apartment during the sunset after having his ride home on the subway delayed for the third day in a row. He stepped inside and set his briefcase on the counter before he entered his bedroom. He had his suitcase laid out on his bed in preparation of his flight to Tokyo. He made sure his clothes, documents, files, computer equipment, and his miscellaneous hygienic items were packed up and then rechecked his room to see what else was worth taking with him. He looked at his worn out wooden bureau and remembered his most important possession that he had kept locked away lately in both his bureau and his mind. He opened the top drawer of the bureau in search of his jian, the magical ceremonial sword, but he found something else of value instead.

Syaoran delicately wiped the dust off the old faded gold frame as he stared at the faces of his happiest years. He looked across the photo taken during his senior year at Seijou High School in front of Penguin Park in Tomoeda, mentally naming every person in the picture from left to right. Touya … Mr. Tsukishiro … Hiiragizawa … Yamazaki … Mihara … Sasaki … Yanagisawa … Meiling … Daidouji …

Syaoran then passed by himself in the picture, but his eyes stopped right at the smiling, stunning girl leaning on his shoulder. For a few moments, he felt himself captivated by the girl's beautiful face. When he finally managed to pull his eyes away from the picture, he thought about how much his life had changed over the last three years, mostly for the worst, but he realized that three years had not been enough time to change his feelings about _her_ … the cheerful girl that had captured his heart as a boy who is now the young woman that resides in his dreams. But he knew that he had to put the past behind him before he died in his regrets. After all, it had been three years since he last had her warm sunshiny smile to cheer him up.

Syaoran placed the picture frame in his suitcase and pulled open the bottom drawer of his bureau. He found his jian, neatly laid out over his green ceremonial robes. Grasping the jian for a moment, Syaoran thought about what the sword had meant to him throughout his life. He once thought of it as simply a reflection of his own strength, but now as the upcoming heir to the fading Li clan, he saw the sword as a reminder of the greatness of his clan's past and the glory that had been lost. The sword had been with him in his card capturing days and reminded him of the times when he felt truly alive, experiencing how great life could really be. To him, the sword represented the life he still had left within himself, even after his failures, and the potential he still has to redeem himself along with his clan. Compacting the sword into a black orb with red tassels, he decided to keep it on him and placed it in the back pocket of his slacks. He tossed the robes into his suitcase and closed it tightly.

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After returning the key of his apartment to the landlord of the complex, Syaoran caught an evening subway ride to the airport. Taking a seat in the corner of an empty boarding cab, he drifted off into reflection as the subway train began to depart. He once again thought about the melancholy condition his life had fallen into. He no longer found interest or satisfaction in the things he lived for. He knew he was stuck in the shadows of his mistakes, and he wondered what it would take to bring himself back into the light.

As the train gradually came to a stop, Syaoran pulled his plane ticket out of his shirt pocket. It was a one-way trip to Tokyo, the place that still had a piece of his heart. Meiling now lived there, ever since her engagement to a Japanese businessman she had met in Hong Kong. She left the Li mansion to Syaoran's sickly mother with only the aging butler, Wei, and occasionally Syaoran's four sisters to look after her. Syaoran wanted to say goodbye to them all before he left, but he felt too distanced from his family, and he let the opportunity slip away. As the boarding cab's doors opened, Syaoran stepped out and headed for the airport with thoughts of a new life in Japan on his mind.

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"Miss Kinomoto, I have the full list of the new employees coming into the research department tomorrow. There's also a client on line two who asked to speak to you about an issue with our apparel designing software," the scurrying voice of a young secretary hastily barked out as he handed the director a beige company file.

"Thank you, Jiro," the director replied before letting out a heavy sigh after the busy secretary walked out of her office.

She was a beautiful woman with shoulder-length auburn hair and elegant emerald eyes as well as an exceptional measure of success, becoming the director of the communications department for one of Japan's fastest growing technology corporations just a few weeks after her twenty-seventh birthday. Her cheerful external persona has always been well-liked by her colleagues, but inside, she has given up on her true feelings and has substituted her failing love life for an intense work life. Only her successful career has yet to betray her, and it is her last remaining sense of purpose.

Setting aside the file, she reluctantly picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Sakura! Hey, it's me, Tomoyo! You haven't called me in forever," the enthusiasm of a female voice conveyed itself clearly over the phone line.

"Wow, Tomoyo … I've been so busy, I'm really sorry about that," Sakura said, sighing in stress as her thoughts shifted to work, "but why did you call me at work? Do you have a question about our software?"

"Well, not really. I have an assistant that handles all the technical specs of fashion design. I just needed an excuse to talk to you. You never even answer your home phone anymore. I've been worried about you."

Sakura's stress suddenly turned to guilt as she thought about the friends she had left behind. "Look, Tomoyo … I'm sorry. I should have been keeping in touch. This past year for me here has just been so hectic, especially the promotion and all. I have a lot of responsibility here."

"I understand, Sakura. You definitely have a big position … but you can't go on like that. I can hear the misery in your voice. You can live your whole life in the office. Just because some things didn't work out in your life doesn't mean you just give up on it entirely."

Sakura was a silent for a moment. She knew what Tomoyo was referring to – her relationships. It was the one area in her life that she wanted desperate to repair, but she had not been able to patch up anything since it all came crashing down three years ago. "Tomoyo … I really have to go. I'm really busy right now, I'm sorry. I promise I'll call you back tonight."

Tomoyo's tone of voice changed to disappointment. "Okay, Sakura. I'll talk to you later," she said sharply as she hung up.

Sakura let out another sigh as she tried to clear her mind and turned her attention to the file imprinted with the company's full name, "Lineagetech Enterprise Corporation." She took the document inside, which was a compilation of the résumés of the new employees entering the research department following s company expansion and renovation, which had also made the research department a subdivision of the communications department. She skimmed through the lower-ranking new employees with little interest. She was more interested in who the corporation president had selected as the new director and associate director after the previous ones had taken jobs at another company. The name of the associate director immediately caught her attention. It was Takashi Yamazaki, an old classmate that she had seen in years. She wondered what the odds of it were as she took in the surprise. However, her surprise did not compare to the astonished tremor of horror that blew up in her head as she discovered that the new director had a name all too familiar.


End file.
